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PARIS, June 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.6 million dollar contract to mature the Miniature Hit-to-Kill (MHTK) interceptor, evaluate its effectiveness and demonstrate manufacturing readiness as part of the Extended Mission Area Missile Program. Announced by the company at the Eurosatory exhibition, this award marks the MHTK's transition from the Science and Technology (S&T) phase to the Development phase.

"This award brings us one step closer to addressing a top battlefield priority – having an effective and cost-efficient solution to defeat rockets, artillery, mortars and other airborne targets," said Hal Stuart, Force Protection program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Previous S&T contracts with the U.S. Army, together with Lockheed Martin investment, helped mature the MHTK missile from basic research to a concept demonstration with two configurations – a semi-active radio frequency seeker and an active radio frequency seeker. MHTK has conducted a dozen flight tests with a combination of investment and contract funds. The most recent controlled flight test in January at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, demonstrated the interceptor's increased agility and validated performance of the airframe and electronics, which are now common between MHTK's two configurations to drive affordability.

The MHTK missile is designed to defeat rocket, artillery and mortar targets through body-to-body contact without a warhead at ranges projected to exceed those of current and interim systems. The missile is just under two and a half feet (76 cm) in length, an inch and a half (4 cm) in diameter and weighs about five pounds (2.2 kg) at launch. The compact size of MHTK allows multiple rounds to be packaged in a very small footprint to effectively combat complex threat situations like saturation attacks. The MHTK interceptor complements the Lockheed Martin family of Hit-to-Kill missile interceptors by delivering close range lethality with proven success for truly layered defense.

About Lockheed MartinHeadquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.